Aspects and Fate Points
Aspects and Fate Points allow players to exert control over their characters' fates, and take narrative control of the world for a bit. An example might be a character in Star Trek making their engineering roll and then getting to spout technobabble that becomes the way things work in the world. Basically, characters (and areas, and even the campaign itself) have a set of aspects, tags which describe them in various ways. Characters also have a pool of Fate Points which they can draw on to improve their chances of accomplishing an attempted action or take some narrative control. The most basic way you can use a Fate Point is by invoking an aspect of yourself, your enemy, or the area, providing a short rationale for how it applies, and either Rerolling your action or adding 4 to the result. This is called Invoking an Aspect- Hrethric is forced to pick up a bow to attack the dragon that just flew off with an unconscious Arturis in it's claws. He invokes his "Friend of the Elves" aspect, saying that in his time with the elves, he practiced with bows under the patient tutelage of the elves, and so isn't as bad with them as someone might think- he can apply a +4 to his attack roll to bump it up just enough to hit, or reroll it entirely. Alternatively, you can narrate something about the world and perhaps cause consequences- Stormblade connects solidly with the mummy, and invokes the area's "Ancient Tomb" aspect, spending a fate point and saying there's a previously unmentioned sarcophagus behind the mummy, causing it to tumble over and wind up prone. Characters can also have their aspects Compelled by the GM or other players to introduce complications, which earn them additional Fate Points. An example would be compelling Dru's hypothetical Raised by Badgers trouble aspect to say that he attends the mayor's ball covered in dirt and grime and stinking of sweat and musk, because to his mind, this is a perfectly appropriate way to be. Will always has the option of rejecting this, saying that Dru knows enough to wash up for something big like this. If he does, there is no consequence, he just doesn't get a Fate Point for later use. If he goes along with it, deciding that's totally something Dru would do, he gets the Fate Point. Will could also compel his own aspect if I didn't bring this up, and if I agreed it was reasonable for Dru, I would give him the Fate Point. In addition to the mechanical benefit of having a Fate Point to use later, Dru also opens up more NPC interactions, from the scandalized socialite who doesn't approve of the dirty elf scratching his balls at the buffet line, to the wood elf who was dragged into this thing just like Dru was and thinks it's hot. Just like a character can have their aspects invoked and compelled, a setting can also have its aspects invoked and compelled. Greyhawk might have the aspect The City Adventuring Built- The party needs to kill a noted thief, and their only chance is to get him while he's relaxing at the Hanged Man Inn. They start a bar fight, and someone invokes Greyhawk's "The City Adventuring Build" aspect to say that a bar fight won't bring the City Guard. Bar fights are a fact of life in Greyhawk, and the guards have bigger things to worry about, so their assassination attempt won't be interrupted by Law Enforcement.Conversely, if the bar fight was started as a cover to assassinate one or more of the PCs, the GM can do the same thing, giving each player a Fate Point. Fate Points Characters have a number of Fate Points equal to their character level (or effective character level), modified by a tier: *-1 FP Tier: Wizard, Cleric, Druid *+0 FP Tier: Sorcerer, Favoured Soul, Psion *+1 FP Tier: Beguiler, Dread Necromancer, Tome of Battle Classes, Psychic Warrior, Druid without Wildshape and Animal Companion *+2 FP Tier: Barbarian, Bard, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, Soulknife, Paladin, Knight *+3 FP Tier: Fighter, Monk, Ninja, Swashbuckler *Multiclass characters are whichever tier they have more levels in, or the lower tier of their classes if their levels are equal. Fate Points refresh between sessions. Fate Points are used to invoke, compel and tag aspects of characters and settings. You can always invoke your own aspects by spending a Fate Point and explaining how it's relavant to your action. If the GM accepts, you may add 4 to your roll, or reroll (though in this case you must take the second result). You can also invoke, compel others if you know, or are willing to guess, their aspects. This can act like invoking your own aspect if you explain how the invocation is relavant to your roll, or you attempt to state a new fact (like saying there's a sarcophagus behind the mummy which makes it fall prone as it staggers from your blow). Aspects Aspects are descriptors of people, places and things. They serve to provide handles for manipulating them in ways other than "I swing my sword/cast my fireball/wave my jiggly bits at it." Aspects will usually be Phrases, People or Props, and should generally be evocative and descriptive. A Phrase aspect is a detail (Strong) or a descriptor (Strong as an Ox) or something the character might say ("No one's stronger than Throngul!"). A Person aspect is someone important to the character- a friend, a mentor, a lover, etc. Usually you would use when the character is in the same scene as you, but if your aspect is "My father was killed by a six-fingered man" then you call it into play when you finally face down the man who killed your father. You might also invoke a person aspect by, for example, talking about the hours spent training with your mentor, or being driven to succeed by an ex-girlfriend you still carry a torch for, or the emotional abuse suffered at the hands of your taskmaster sergeant as a golem-warrior. Organizations and corporations are people too. A Prop aspect is an item important to your character. "My Trusty Burleigh and Stronginthearm Crossbow" or "The Cigar Case Given To Me By My Wife" both count and have obvious significance to the character. The former always shoots true- invoking it for a +4 or a reroll is undeniable. The latter deflects a bolt aimed at your heart, or centers you as you mind is running off from you as you deal with crossing timelines as you hunt a degenerate murderer in the past. Prop aspects may be useful when you have them, but they can also imply things about your character even in their absence. Props can be items, places or even ideas, and there's no reason they can't be magical things, but just saying your aspect is your "Trusty Magical Sword" doesn't mean you automatically have a magic sword. You still need to spend the proper character resources to have a magical item (though mundane items might be comped, with DM approval). These catergories can mixed, for example: "The Cigar Case Given To Me By My Wife" is both a Prop and talks about a personal relationship like a Person. "You Killed My Father" is a phrase and a person, (though not necessarily a very good aspect...) Characters have seven Aspects: Core Aspects High Concept: a short phrase that sums up who and what your character is beyond his Race and Class-Your job, your role in life, or your calling. To use an example from the game I'm taking this from Harry Dresden's High Concept might be "Wizard Private Eye" or "The Only Wizard in the Phone Book". Trouble: This is what complicates your high concept, essentially. Internal and External conflicts, this will be the main way your character is compelled. Because the Dresdenverse has a whole subtheme of "magic can be used rightly or wrongly, it's power, and power corrupts," Harry might have the trouble "The Temptation of Power," there's always that voice in the back of head saying "fuck it, just immolate the bastard." A trouble aspect should have a bright side, too, because you can invoke it yourself. Harry's past use of dark magic gives him experience in defending against it and resisting temptation, as well as first hand knowledge of the consequences as a reason to not fall into it. Phase One Background: Where you came from, what was your early life like? Harry grew up the son of a stage magician, with a dead mother, and when Harry's dad died, a wizard recognized his bloodline and potential and took him in. Wizard is covered in his high concept, so he toys with Angry Orphan and Adopted Prodigy, but settles on a prop, My Mother's Silver Pentacle, which serves as a memento of his family and "a reminder of his isolation and loss." Phase Two Rising Conflict: What shaped you, what made you who you are now. Because Harry was forced to kill his mentor with magic (because his mentor was an evil wizard pursuing dark magic), he is under the Doom of Damocles from the council-if he makes one more mistake, he's kill on sight. Phase Three The Story: What was your first adventure? And no, it's not the Dryad. This is a descriptor of your character's first major story. It's probably related to your Rising Conflict. Pick a story name, and a guest star- another character who featured in the story. The aspect is separate from these things, and describes, say, your conduct in that adventure. Harry's first story is Storm Front, guest starring friend and vague romantic interest Karrin Murphy, a mundane beat cop. In the adventure, he was stubborn, thick headed, and short tempered, so his aspect is Not So Subtle, Quick to Anger. Phase Four and Five Guest Star Redux: as above, just again, twice. But this time you're looking at whose stories you guest starred in. The first time you can, and probably should, use the same character you used in The Story--but each Guest Star Redux should be a different character. So Harry's first GSR could be Karrin Murphy again, from a different story, and the second needs to be primarily tied to a different character, Will Rogers (though Murphy appeared too). In the first GSR, Harry was a smartass, trading quips with a troll--his aspect is Epic Wiseass. In the second, Harry got called in by Murphy (who was assigned to Willamena's case), because she trusts him and knows he could use the cash--his aspect is Perpetually Broke. Index Cards and Story Aspects For the last three phases, index cards are helpful. Write your name, the title of your story, and something like a story skeleton (When happens, protagonist a goal. But will protagonist succeed when provides opposition?) or a summary on an index card, then hand it to your guest star during the next phase, who will contribute their own bit. Consequences Characters can also gain temporary aspects in battle to hold off death. Whenever a character takes damage, they can take a Consequence to reduce that damage. Consequences can be Mild, Moderate or Severe, and act as a new Aspect which can be invoked or compelled, and will often have a mechanical effect as well. Mild- lasts until the next encounter, applies a -2 to relevant rolls, something you can walk off, cancels out 1d4 damage (Bruised hand, black eye, winded, distracted) Moderate- lasts until a rest, applies a -6 to relevant rolls, something you should have looked at, or get some rest for, cancels out 1/2CharLvD6 damage (Belly slash, first degree burns, twisted ankle, drunk, exhausted) Severe- lasts for the adventure, applies a -10 to relevant rolls, you should probably go find a priest, cancels out CharLvD6 damage (broken leg, second degree burns, crippling shame, trauma induced phobia) Extreme Consequences Finally, there are also Extreme Consequences. These are consequences which redefine your character in some way. When you take an extreme consequence, you change one of your permanent aspects other than High Concept (unless it's specifically targetted by the attack, like trying to strip a High Archmage of the Greyhawk Arcanum of his ability to use magic) or your Trouble Aspect (at all), and you cancel out CharLvD10 damage. You cannot get rid of an Extreme Consquence. It becomes one of your permanent aspects, and cannot be changed short of being renamed during advancement. You may only have one of each level of consequence at a time--though technically you can take multiple Extreme Consequences because they change your permenant aspects. Using Aspects That Aren't Your Own Players can generally be assumed to know the aspects of their fellow players' characters and invoke or compel those with no difficulty. However, they don't necessarily know the aspects of other targets. It can be assumed that an abandoned warehouse has the aspect "Dark," but if the players haven't encountered them yet, they can't know about its "Demon Infested" aspect. In these cases, players can guess, or they can assess, attempt to learn the aspects that are in play. Guessing When a player wants to make a guess on a scene or character aspect, they spend a point and say how their guess is relevant. If it's right, or reasonably close, they spend the point and know that the scene or character does in fact have that aspect (or the correct term of a reasonably close guess). For example, a player is trying to sneak up on enemies in an abandoned warehouse. He holds up his point and says that he's trying to use the Dark aspect of the warehouse to cover his approach. If this is correct, or reasonably close (say the aspect is actually Shadowed Corners), the Fate Point is spent and the players now know that the scene has the aspect Darkness/Shadowed Corners. If it's incorrect, however, and revealing that fact doesn't constitute significant or potentially secret information, the player keeps his Fate Point. On the other hand, if the guess being incorrect is significant, or might reveal potentially secret information, the point is spent in exchange for the information players can glean from the knowledge it was incorrect. Assessing Assessing is a simple matter of using your skills to learn about the aspects of a subject. Any skill which is used to gain information can be used this way, generally at DC 20. This includes Appraise, Gather Information, Knowledges, Listen, Search, Spellcraft, Spot, or even Decipher Script or Sense Motive under certain circumstances. Declaration The same skills used for Assessment can also be used for Declaration. Whereas assessment tells you what is, declaration means ''you ''get to state something which becomes a fact. The DC is generally 30, or is opposed by a level check made by the subject. If you succeed, you spend a Fate Point and declare some fact of the subject, which may be an aspect. Tagging When you discover or create an aspect in a scene, you get the first invocation of it for free.